M.Phil. (Engineering Management) / Total Quality Management (TQM) as a management philosophy is driven by top management with employee participation. This encompasses all facets of an organisation, with the aim of producing products and services which meet the customer’s needs.TQM was adopted by project-based organisations in the 1990s in response to increasing global competition. Process engineering design firms are operating in a competitive, global business environment where outsourcing of process engineering design services from other countries is not an uncommon practice. It is argued that TQM is crucial for an organisation’s success and survival. Although various quality management techniques exist, TQM offers the holistic approach necessary to adequately manage design quality. The study investigates the effects of Total Quality Management (TQM) implementation on process engineering design firms. Secondly, the study investigates the extent of TQM adoption by South African process engineering design firms. Lastly, the study investigates the perceived importance of TQM principles. The research questions are: i. What is the effect of TQM on the performance of process engineering design firms? ii. To what extent has TQM been adopted by South African process engineering design firms? iii. What is the perceived importance of TQM principles in process engineering design? The first research question was answered by conducting a literature survey. The author was unable to find studies relating specifically to process engineering design firms. As a result, the literature study was done for engineering firms in general. The study indicates that TQM adoption has a favourable effect on engineering firms. The study reveals that TQM implementation improves employee satisfaction, customer satisfaction, and financial performance while providing a vision that channels the entire organisation towards improvements in product quality and customer-related performances. The second and third research questions were answered with the use of a questionnaire survey, which measured importance and adoption utilising a 5-point Likert scale. The study reveals that 70% of the firms which participated in the survey have formally adopted TQM while 30% have not. Eighty five per cent of the organisations that have adopted TQM are ISO9001 certified. An adoption rate of 70% indicates an above-average adoption of TQM by South African process engineering design firms. An ISO9001 certification of 85% indicates that South African process engineering design firms are conforming to international quality standards. The adoption of the TQM principles ranges from 66% to 80% (moderate to high). Customer Involvement and Management Commitment are the most highly adopted, while Supplier Quality Management and Continuous Improvement are the least adopted. The firms which have formally adopted TQM report 77% implementation rate, while the firms which have not formally adopted TQM report a 63% implementation rate. Although the firms which have not formally adopted TQM are implementing TQM principles, they have not been able to implement the principles as well as the firms which have formally adopted TQM. The perceived importance of the TQM principles ranges from 78% to 92% (“important” to “very important”). The most important principle is perceived to be Customer Involvement, while Continuous Improvement and Supplier Quality Management are perceived to be the least important. The firms which have formally adopted TQM rate the principles more highly in the importance scale (86%) compared to the firms which have not formally adopted TQM (80%). The results indicate that the firms which have formally adopted TQM find value in doing so. The mean score for the importance of TQM principles is 84%, while the mean score for the adoption of TQM principles is 73%. It is evident from the data that there is a gap between the perceived importance and adoption of the TQM principles. The data suggests that the policies and strategies of the organisation have not achieved full implementation of TQM and have room for improvement.

M.Phil. / Competition in the bus industry is very fierce. To gain competitive advantage bus manufacturing companies have resorted to various strategies such as intensive marketing, advertising, product innovation, and creation of a wider range of products. These are not sufficient to remain competitive. Another strategy is improving service quality to their customers. A study by Oskrowski et al (1993) showed that the airline companies were able to acquire and retain customers‟ loyalty by continuing to provide perceived high quality services. Bus building companies operating in the transportation industry (which is the same as airline companies); see improvement of the service quality being a major pillar in acquiring new customers and also in retaining existing customers. Thus, providing superior service quality by implementing stringent “Service Performance Logistics Metrics” should be the main agenda for all bus building companies in order to remain competitive. Many empirical studies had tried to measure different dimensions of service quality of the bus building companies. Gourdin (1999) categorized the bus building industry‟s quality into three aspects: (a) price; (b) safety; and (c) timeless. Gilbert and Wong (2003) have revised and adapted the three-aspects of service quality to include: (a) reliability; (b) tangibility; (c) responsiveness; and (d) assurance. This research thesis have re-looked at the service quality metrics, and categorized them in eight (8) broad measures; namely: (a) reliability and availability; (b) parts and parts delivery; (c) repairs selection factors; (d) products design aspects & environmental; (e) product support and warranty; (f) cost and cost service; (g) technical resolution, information, & technical data/software; and (h) facilities characteristics and manpower. Gilbert and Wong (2003), empirical study focused on the airline industry service quality metrics. These are not quite adaptable to the bus building companies; hence this research was focused on the eight (8) broader aspects. The research was conducted by three sets of questionnaires: (a) one for customers for the bus building industry; (b) the second one for employees of the bus building companies; and (c) questionnaire for the customers for bus dealerships networks. These questionnaires are attached as annexure 3 to 5 of this thesis. Focus Groups Interviews (as per Annexure 2 of this thesis) were also held to guide the process of compiling the questionnaires, and also deciding which questions/aspects needed to be included on the final questionnaires. The sorting, analyses, and interpretation of data were primarily done by: - (a) Excel; (b) SPSS – Statistical Analysis Software; and (c) PowerPoint. Data was organized in the form of: Metrics; Graphs (e.g. bar, pie charts); and spreadsheets (with comments and explanatory notes). In general, the study was motivated by the following reasons: - (a) seasonality nature of the manufacturing volumes of buses in South Africa; (b) fragmentation nature of the bus building industry; (c) lack of available uniform performance measures of services provided by bus building companies; (d) lack of government manufacturing support program (i.e. almost the same as those that exist for car manufacturing in South Africa – MIDP). The re-focus of government transportation activities, moving peoples away from personal cars to buses; rail; and taxis - made the study even more important. The study will also serve as a benchmark measure of their services as they are at the moment. It will also help those bus manufacturing companies that are not well geared towards competiveness. It further contribute to the body of knowledge as there are limited studies (of this nature) being done in South Africa. Thus, for investors who wish to enter the bus building industry in South Africa; the study will prove to be very helpful in terms of the service status quo provided by bus building companies.

This thesis deals with the application of ISO 9001:2008 requirements on documentation in an international company providing services. First, it approaches the importance of the ISO 9001 and shows documentation requirements introduced in the standard. The analytic part presents how the standard was applied in the quality documentation of Germanischer Lloyd. Special emphasis is laid on a project which focused on a complete revision of the quality documentation in the company. The greatest changes include a new structure of documentation, an update of the majority of the documents and increasing the user friendliness of the documents' organisation.

Museums are service-oriented information systems that provide access to information bearing materials contained in the museum's collections. Within museum environments, the primary vehicle for quality assurance and public accountability is the accreditation process of the American Association of Museums (AAM). Norbert Wiener founded the field of cybernetics, employing concepts of information feedback as a mechanism for system modification and control. W. Edwards Deming applied Wiener's principles to management theory, initiating the wave of change in manufacturing industries from production-driven to quality-driven systems. Today, the principles are embodied in the ISO 9000 International Standards for quality management systems (QMS), a globally-recognized set of standards, widely employed as a vehicle of quality management in manufacturing and service industries. The International Organization for Standardization defined a process for QMS registration against ISO 9001 that is similar in purpose to accreditation. This study's goals were to determine the degree of correspondence between elements of ISO 9001 and quality-related activities within museum environments, and to ascertain the relevance of ISO 9001-2000 as a technique of museum evaluation, parallel to accreditation. A content analysis compared museum activities to requirements specified in the ISO 9001-2000 International Standard. The study examined museum environment surrogates which consisted of (a) web sites of nine museum studies programs in the United States and (b) web sites of two museum professional associations, the AAM and the International Council of Museums (ICOM). Data items consisted of terms and phrases from the web sites and the associated context of each item. Affinity grouping of the data produced high degrees of correspondence to the categories and functional subcategories of ISO 9001. Many quality-related activities were found at the operational levels of museum environments, although not integrated as a QMS. If activities were unified as a QMS, the ISO 9001 Standard has potential for application as an evaluative technique in museum environments.

Orientador: Maria Carolina de Azevedo Ferreira de Souza / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Mecanica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-31T18:19:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ferreira_AnaGlauciaVasconcelos_M.pdf: 7261742 bytes, checksum: 71d24f5259fc7ce4c92c159af99e0cdc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2001 / Resumo: A reestruturação do Setor Elétrico nacional e o processo de privatização parcial das energéticas de São Paulo trouxeram para as empresas estatais de geração, transmissão e distribuição de energia elétrica, a necessidade de adotar um posicionamento competitivo no novo mercado de energia, menos estável e menos estruturado, no qual novas variáveis foram inseridas. No caso da CTEEP - Companhia de Transmissão de Energia Elétrica Paulista (empresa originária da cisão parcial da CESP - Companhia Energética de São Paulo e que permaneceu estatal), a preparação para esse processo exigiu a adoção de estratégias que foram muito além da reestruturação e cisão. A principal preocupação foi a de preservar sua posição no mercado, de forma competitiva e saudável. A possibilidade de prever as mudanças e de preparar-se antecipadamente para elas foi um fator determinante para que todo o processo pudesse ser realizado sem traumas internos, por meio de um posicionamento flexível e adaptável. A operacionalização das mudanças teve como eixo de sustentação a Gestão da Qualidade que, tomada num sentido mais amplo, integra elementos de diversas Teorias da Administração, do Desenvolvimento Organizacional, da Cultura Organizacional e da Abordagem Sistêmica, além de considerar os aspectos técnicos e os parâmetros específicos da gestão setorial. Sob essa perspectiva, o Sistema de Gestão da Qualidade implementado na empresa extrapola o objetivo de padronização dos processos e assume a função de facilitar e estimular o processo interno de aprendizado organizacional contínuo e de compartilhamento do "saber organizacional" . A análise da evolução histórica e da transformação empresarial mostra a aplicabilidade dos conceitos da Gestão da Qualidade na organização. Ainda que seja uma empresa estatal, que não está isenta do atendimento à legislação, aos tribunais de contas e às questões políticas, advindas de sua constituição societária, é possível observar o modo como o Sistema de Gestão da Qualidade pode ajudar a preservar e ampliar o conjunto de recursos existentes na empresa, apesar da intensidade e dimensão das mudanças por meio de estratégias / Abstract: The rebuilding ofthe National Electricity generating segment and the partial privatization of electric power mills of São Paulo have brought to the State Companies (Companies of electrical energy, transmition, and distribution of electricity) the need of adopting a competitive position in the new-bom power market, less steady and less prepared, in which new approaches have been inserted. In the CTEEP - (Company ofElectricity Transmission), the company which had its origin in the partial breaking off of the CESP (Electrical Power Company of São Paulo), and that remained a state Company. The preparation for this process required the adoption of strategies which went beyond the rebuilding and the rupture. The main objective was to keep its position in the market, in a very healthy and competitive way. The possibility of, in advance, changing, and getting ready for them was a decisive factor for the whole process to be achieved without any traumas inside, through an adjustable and flexible position. The operating process of the changes had as a support the Quality Management, which seen in a wider sense, integrate elements from several Administration Theories, of the organizational Development, and of the systematic approach, besides taking into consideration the technical features, and the "specific limits" ofthe management of sectors. Under this outlook the Management Quality System which has been improved in the company goes beyond the process standardizing, and has the function of simplifying and busting the internal process of organizationallearning, and also the sharing of "organizational wareness". The analysis of the historical evolution, and of entrepreunership transformation shows the aplicability of the Concepts of Quality Management in the Company sectors. As a State Company though, it is not free from obeying the law regulations,from answering the National Treasure, and the political questions, alI ofwhich are originated in its constitution of associates. It's not difticult to notice how much the Quality Management System can help to keep and widen the set of existing resources in the company, in spite of the intensity and dimension of the strategical . changes that sometimes become necessary / Mestrado / Gestão da Qualidade Total / Mestre Profissional em Engenharia Mecanica

La qualité dans l'enseignement supérieur revêt un intérêt indubitable à l’échelle internationale. Face au constat du manque de consensus sur la définition de ce concept et à la diversité des référentiels utilisés, nous proposons une étude qui vise à comprendre les incidences de la certification ISO 9001 sur la qualité dans l'enseignement supérieur. À cette fin, nous avons élaboré un cadre conceptuel fondé sur la littérature consacrée à ce sujet. Ce cadre est une modélisation des dimensions de la qualité dans l'enseignement supérieur et constitue, suivant la méthode qualitative par études de cas, le prisme sous lequel les données sont collectées et traitées auprès de trois établissements d’enseignement supérieur.Nos études de cas sont réalisées au Maroc, où la norme ISO 9001 constitue, contrairement à plusieurs autres pays, le référentiel principal utilisé dans l’enseignement supérieur. Nos résultats montrent que cette certification peut avoir plusieurs incidences positives sur la qualité dans l'enseignement supérieur, y compris les aspects pédagogiques, à condition de bien définir le périmètre de la certification et d’adapter l’interprétation des exigences de la norme aux particularités de l’enseignement supérieur. / Quality in higher education has an undeniable interest at the international level. Confronted with the fact that there is a lack of consensus on the definition of this concept and a diversity of standards used, we propose a study aiming at understanding the implications of ISO 9001 certification on the quality of higher education. To that end, we have worked out a conceptual framework based on the literature devoted to this subject. This framework is a modelization of the dimensions of quality in higher education and constitutes, in accordance with the qualitative method of case studies, the outlook according to which data from three higher education institutions are collected and processed.Our case studies have been carried out in Morocco, where the ISO 9001 standard is, contrary to several other countries, the main referential used in higher education. Our results show that this certification can have several positive impacts on the quality of higher education, including pedagogical aspects, as long as the perimeter of the certification is well defined and the requirements of the standard are adapted to the specificities of higher education.

Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2020 / Over the past decade, under the increasingly competitive business environment, many sub-Saharan African ISO9001 certified firms are struggling continuously to improve their business processes. Adversely, the lack of continuous improvement after implementating ISO9001 in many services-oriented organizations in Gabon has contributed to the erosion of quality in service delivery. Thus, this study investigates the impact of ISO9001 on service delivery at the logistics department of a brewery in Gabon. The study also identifies the key factors affecting ISO9001 implementation in organizations and exploring standard measurements of ISO9001 on service delivery. A mixed-methods approach, which includes both qualitative and quantitative methods were used in this study. The researcher used qualitative techniques to collect data from interviews, site observations, and document analysis. A questionnaire (n=135) was distributed in the company to obtain an understanding of the views of the respondents. Data were analyzed through the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 24. The Cronbach's Alpha value was used to measure the internal consistency of the dataset, and the Spearman‘s rank correlation tests was used to assess on the sets of questions/ statements posed to the logistics department employees. Ethical issues were well-considered during the research process. The research findings indicate that managers should ensure that employees are regularly trained, and, organizational culture is well established and understood by everyone in the organization.

ISO 9001: 2015 is the latest edition of the Quality Management System from the International Standard Organization. One of the most noticeable changes about the new edition is the emphasis on risk-based thinking. This study introduces a template for developing a Quality Manual and a systematic approach to Risk Assessment using a risk-based decision-making framework embedded in the Quality Management System. An extensive discussion on decision-making, risk and opportunity analysis is provided with the aim of developing a seamless integration between QMS, risk analysis, and decision-making. This study proposes a decision-making framework that aligns ISO 9001 requirements with the decision-making process. The proposed decision-making methodology is aimed specifically at product and service selection. A case study is used to demonstrate the methodology.

Access to a safe drinking water supply is a critical issue in a number of places across the globe. Conventional water quality monitoring technologies are slow, often taking at least two days to produce results. In recent years, there has been extensive research into emerging technologies that provide real-time results; however, there is no technology which detects all classes of biological contaminants. Biological contaminants are 5 particularly difficult to detect and quantify due to low concentrations typically present. It is not feasible to identify all biological contaminants present in a water supply; therefore, it is necessary to determine which are of highest concern based factors such as health significance, infectivity, and prevalence. The intent of this research is to evaluate microbiological detection methods and technologies based on their applicability for continuous real-time detection. This research will complement current research on biological water quality monitoring technologies for use in developing regions or in the event of an emergency and will provide suggestions for future research efforts.

This thesis deals with the quality management system in furniture company Spartan a.s . The aim was to analyze the quality management system. The first part is a general description of the history and development management of quality. In the second part are identified maps of major and minor processes inside the organization. In the third part there is a proposal for a new documentation of beginning production process.